The perceived employer related barriers to the diploma nurses’ decision to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree in Nairobi County

Abstract

Background: The Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree has been linked by researchers to safety and better patient outcome within settings in healthcare. However, a proportion of nurses globally exceeding 60% start the practice without a Bachelor’s Degree. Therefore, policy makers in the nursing profession have been under pressure to have the level of education of the nurses possessing a diploma advanced to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree. Materials and Methods: the study adopted a cross-sectional descriptive design. The study was conducted in three select Sub-Counties in Nairobi County, Kenya. The target population was 1, 131 nurses with a Diploma in Nursing and employed by the County Government of Nairobi. a sample size of 286 nurses was selected using Cochran’s Formula. Data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire. data analysis was through SPSS version 24.0. Analysis was through descriptive statistics which comprised of frequencies and percentages and Chi-Square Inferential Statistics. Results: 59.5% (frequency=160) of the respondents indicated that their employer provides study time for nurses enrolled in BSN program, 76.6% (frequency=206) indicated that their nurse manager does not value BSN degree and gives priority to BSN nurses when offering management responsibilities, 91.4% (frequency=246) of the respondents indicated that their employer does not provide financial support to nurses pursuing a BSN degree, and 91.8% (247) indicated that nurses with a BSN degree are not given priority in promotions and salary increase. 59.1% (frequency=159) of the respondents had made a decision to pursue BSN degree while 40.9% (n=110) had not made a decision to pursue a BSN degree. The Chi-Square results showed that provision of study time by employer (χ²= 63.03, p-value<0.0001), provision of financial support by employer (χ²= 3.956, p-value=0.047) and priority in promotions and salary increment (χ²= 10.02, p-value=0.002) had a significant relationship with decision to pursue a BSN by nurses. Conclusion: Nurse Employers provide adequate study time for nurses enrolled in a nursing degree program, a nursing degree is not valued by the management and when assigning responsibilities, the employer does not provide financial support to nurses pursuing a nursing degree and that nurses with a nursing degree are not given priority in promotions and salary increment. It can also be concluded that most nurses have made a decision to pursue a nursing degree. Provision of study time, financial support and priority in promotions and salary increment by the employer are the significant barriers to nurses’ decision to pursue a nursing degree